Tag: saheli roy choudhury

Asia Pacific markets traded mostly higher on Friday as investors cheered a report saying American officials may be weighing the possibility of easing tariffs on China, in a bid to push forward trade talks. That optimism lifted shares in the Greater China region: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.14 percent in late-afternoon trade. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 263.80 points, or 1.29 percent, to 20,666.07 while the Topix index was up 14.39 points, or 0.93 percent, at 1,557.59. U.S. officials ar

Asia Pacific markets traded mostly higher on Friday as investors cheered a report saying American officials may be weighing the possibility of easing tariffs on China, in a bid to push forward trade talks.

That optimism lifted shares in the Greater China region: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.14 percent in late-afternoon trade. On the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai composite gained 1.42 percent to 2,596.01 while the Shenzhen composite and the Shenzhen component both advanced.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 263.80 points, or 1.29 percent, to 20,666.07 while the Topix index was up 14.39 points, or 0.93 percent, at 1,557.59. South Korea’s Kospi gained 17.22 points, or 0.82 percent, to 2,124.28.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin proposed lifting all or some of the tariffs on Chinese imports to give Beijing a reason to make deeper concessions in ongoing trade talks between the two countries.

But U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer resisted the idea, worried that it could be considered a sign of weakness, the Journal added, citing people with knowledge to the matter. A senior administration official told CNBC’s Eamon Javersthat “there’s no discussion of lifting tariffs now.”

Still, the news “helped to mitigate the dashed hopes for an announcement of a peace trade deal at the side-lines of the World Economic Forum in Davos from January 22nd-25th,” Christy Tan, head of markets strategy and research for Asia at the National Australia Bank (NAB), wrote in a note.

President Donald Trump on Thursday canceled his delegation’s trip to Davos, citing the ongoing partial government shutdown. U.S. officials are still expecting Chinese Vice Premier Liu He to visit Washington at the end of January for further trade talks.

The National Australia Bank’s Tan questioned if a tariff agreement would be able to turn around China’s slowing economy, but analysts at Eurasia Group said that Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s desire to avoid tariff escalation reduces the probability of talks breaking down within the first half of the year.

“Fearful of the negative reaction of jittery markets to a collapse of talks, the two sides have taken a constructive approach, refusing to let lateral geopolitical, Iran sanctions, and cyber-related tensions sink negotiations,” the analysts said in a note.

“Rather than reach a comprehensive agreement by the theoretical deadline of 1 March, the two sides will extend talks,” they added, saying the extension could be for another 90 days.

Thursday’s report from the WSJ also sent U.S. stocks higher overnight.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, last changed hands at 96.050 as of 3:14 p.m. HK/SIN.

The yen, viewed as a safe-haven asset, traded at 109.44 to the dollar, weaker than levels near 108.00 earlier in the week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7193, dipping from an earlier high of $0.7205 while the euro fetched $1.1392.

Australia’s ASX 200 was up 41.20 points, or 0.71 percent, at 5,814.60 as the heavily-weighted financial subindex added 0.66 percent while the energy and materials sectors also posted gains.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar traded at $0.7216 as of 3:42 p.m. HK/SIN, climbing from an earlier low of $0.7188.

Asia’s gains came despite declines on Wall Street overnight as the U.S. corporate earnings season kicked off. Still, U.S. futures also pointed to a positive open Tuesday.

“Risk is under modest downward pressure after yesterday’s disappointing December Chinese export data and confirmation of weak euro area industrial production fuelled concerns that a synchronised global manufacturing down-swing is underway and possibly intensifying,” analysts at ANZ Research wrote in a Tuesday morning note.

The analysts added that resolving trade uncertainty is “fundamental” to stabilizing the outlook, referring to an ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Beijing.

In the currency market, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of its peers, traded at 95.563. The Japanese yen, considered a safe-haven asset, fetched 108.61 to the dollar.

The British pound traded at $1.2885 as of 3:46 p.m. HK/SIN, climbing from levels below $1.2740 in the previous week. Sterling will be a focus for investors as lawmakers vote on U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal to leave the European Union.

The vote is widely expected to be defeated in parliament Tuesday, but could potentially still trigger a violent market reaction, according to some analysts.

“Today’s vote is considered a ‘buy the rumour, sell the fact’ play for the pound especially if the Brexit agreement is defeated by more than 100 votes,” analysts at Singapore’s DBS Group Research wrote. “It is still too early to take off the risk for the pound to fall to its post-referendum low near 1.20 this year.”

Asia Pacific markets started off the trading week mostly on the back foot as China’s disappointing trade data spooked investors. The Shenzhen composite declined 0.73 percent to 1,303.75, while the Shenzhen component index fell around 0.86 percent to 7,409.19. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 1.57 percent while Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.53 percent. In company news, Singapore-listed real estate developer CapitaLand said on Monday it has entered into an agreement to acquire Ascenda

Asia Pacific markets started off the trading week mostly on the back foot as China’s disappointing trade data spooked investors. Major indexes in South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Singapore tumbled Monday afternoon. The market in Japan is closed for a public holiday.

Shares in Asia were lower after Chinese government data showed that December exports and imports fell unexpectedly, deepening concerns of a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy as Beijing’s trade war with the U.S. appeared to be taking a toll.

Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics, said in a note that China’s import slowdown was consistent with other signs that growth in the domestic economy was weakening.

China’s trade surplus with the U.S. — closely watched amid a bitter trade war between Washington and Beijing — grew 17 percent from a year ago. According to Reuters, that’s the highest on record dating back to 2006. Still, overall Chinese trade surplus last year was the lowest since 2013, the news agency reported.

The Shanghai composite slipped about 0.7 percent to 2,535.77. The Shenzhen composite declined 0.73 percent to 1,303.75, while the Shenzhen component index fell around 0.86 percent to 7,409.19.

China’s central bank set the yuan midpoint at 6.7560 against the dollar before market open — it was the strongest since Jul. 19, 2018, according to financial data provider Wind.

On-shore yuan traded at 6.7649 versus the greenback as of 2:57 p.m. HK/SIN. The People’s Bank of China allows the exchange rate to rise or fall 2 percent from the official midpoint rate it sets daily.

In South Korea, the Kospi declined about 11.05 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,064.52 as some of the tech names struggled.

In company news, Singapore-listed real estate developer CapitaLand said on Monday it has entered into an agreement to acquire Ascendas-Singbridge. It would make the combined entity Asia’s largest diversified real estate group, the company said. Trading of CapitaLand shares were halted ahead of the announcement.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar traded at $0.7182 as of 2:55 p.m. HK/SIN, coming off an earlier session high of $0.7217.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of its peers, traded at 95.615 while the Japanese yen, considered a safe haven asset, was at 108.12 to the dollar.

Concerns over an ongoing U.S. government shutdown and worries about an economic slowdown in China could dampen a relatively positive sentiments seen in markets last week.

Sentiment was buoyed by “soothing words” from Fed officials and rising optimism that Beijing and Washington would resolve some of their trade differences before a 90-day moratorium on further U.S. tariff action kicks in, Ray Attrill, head of foreign-exchange strategy at the National Australia Bank, wrote in a morning note.

The “expectation that the Fed is now on hold for the foreseeable future is firmly entrenched in markets,” analysts at ANZ Research also said in a Monday note.

Major Asian real estate developer CapitaLand said on Monday it has entered into an agreement to buy two wholly owned units from Ascendas-Singbridge, a subsidiary of Singapore state investment firm Temasek, in a cash and stock deal. If the deal is approved, the new entity would become Asia’s largest diversified real estate group, according to CapitaLand. Its combined assets under management would exceed 116 billion Singapore dollars ($85.79 billion), which would put the firm among the top 10 real

Major Asian real estate developer CapitaLand said on Monday it has entered into an agreement to buy two wholly owned units from Ascendas-Singbridge, a subsidiary of Singapore state investment firm Temasek, in a cash and stock deal.

If the deal is approved, the new entity would become Asia’s largest diversified real estate group, according to CapitaLand.

Its combined assets under management would exceed 116 billion Singapore dollars ($85.79 billion), which would put the firm among the top 10 real estate investment managers globally, CapitaLand said.

For its part, Temasek will receive about 3 billion Singapore dollars ($2.2 billion) in cash and another S$3 billion in new CapitaLand shares.

The move would give CapitaLand a “chance to be able to gain access to interesting asset classes in the new economy sectors that are driven by technology and e-commerce,” Lee Chee Koon, president and group CEO, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Monday morning.

“Assets like industrial, logistics/business parks — these will add a new excitement to the asset classes that CapitaLand is traditionally strong at, which are shopping malls, offices, residential and service apartments,” he added.

Lee added that the deal would increase CapitaLand’s options in places such as the United States, Europe and India, allowing the company to scale up and diversify its investments globally. The acquisition is projected to expand the company’s presence to more than 180 cities across 32 countries.

The targets of the deal — Ascendas and Singbridge — are the holding companies for Ascendas-Singbridge Group’s business, which includes managing Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust, Ascendas India Trust and Ascendas Hospitality Trust.

Once the deal closes, Temasek’s ownership of CapitaLand is set to increase from 40.8 percent to about 51 percent.

Beijing’s efforts to prop up a slowing Chinese economy, in the middle of an ongoing trade war with Washington, is pushing the government to introduce previously untested policies, according to a senior analyst at Moody’s Investors Service. While official data have indicated that China’s economy held up for much of last year, cracks have started appearing in recent months as production metrics and export orders fell. But the tariff war has piled on additional pressure on China’s economy. “We see

Beijing’s efforts to prop up a slowing Chinese economy, in the middle of an ongoing trade war with Washington, is pushing the government to introduce previously untested policies, according to a senior analyst at Moody’s Investors Service.

While official data have indicated that China’s economy held up for much of last year, cracks have started appearing in recent months as production metrics and export orders fell.

After decades of breakneck growth, the world’s second-largest economy was already facing domestic headwinds even before the escalation in trade tensions with the U.S. But the tariff war has piled on additional pressure on China’s economy.

“We see growth in China slowing to 6 percent,” Christian Fang, an assistant vice president-analyst at Moody’s, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday. “I think the bigger issue for us is that policy trade-offs have increased in China. On the one hand, there is this broader campaign of de-risking, deleveraging, but policy also seems to be shifting slightly towards growth — supporting growth.”

“Some of the tools in the policy response they have meted out are untested,” he added. “Tax cuts, for instance, we don’t know what the businesses and the consumers — how they would respond to the tax cuts.”

In last few months, Beijing has announced several measures aimed at propping up its economy.

On Wednesday, state media reported that China will be granting more tax breaks to small firms. The measures include substantial cuts in business income tax rates and an increase in the tax threshold, with the aim of saving small and micro firms a total of 200 billion yuan ($30 billion) each year, according to Xinhua.

The People’s Bank of China said last Friday it will cut the amount of reserves that banks are required to hold by 1 percentage point this month — that means banks would have more money to lend to customers. In December, the Chinese central bank introduced a new tool to encourage commercial banks to give out more loans to smaller firms.

The measures to spur growth, which theoretically could saddle the economy with more debt, is creating a trade-off with Beijing’s efforts to clean up its financial system. Experts have said that the ongoing trade war with the U.S. is forcing China to retreat from its own anti-debt battle while others have suggested the country hasn’t done enough to stimulate the economy.

“Since mid-2018, China’s authorities have eased policy through targeted liquidity measures, taxation changes and infrastructure spending, which will shore up growth,” Fang and his colleagues at Moody’s wrote in a Jan 10. report.

“However, designing and implementing policy that simultaneously buffers the shock of the US trade tariffs and potential further restrictions while continuing deleveraging and derisking without triggering too sharp a slowdown in growth, poses complex trade-offs,” they added.

The U.S. and China on Wednesday concluded a three-day round of trade talks in Beijing, which analysts said revealed signs of modest progress.

Samsung Electronics said on Tuesday that its fourth-quarter earnings likely decreased sharply due to lackluster demand in its memory chip business as well growing competition in the smartphone segment. The South Korean tech giant predicted operating profit for the three months ended December was approximately 10.8 trillion Korean won ($9.67 billion) — or 28.71 percent down from a year ago. The figure missed market expectations, coming in 18.18 percent less than the 13.2 trillion won that analyst

Samsung Electronics said on Tuesday that its fourth-quarter earnings likely decreased sharply due to lackluster demand in its memory chip business as well growing competition in the smartphone segment.

The South Korean tech giant predicted operating profit for the three months ended December was approximately 10.8 trillion Korean won ($9.67 billion) — or 28.71 percent down from a year ago.

The figure missed market expectations, coming in 18.18 percent less than the 13.2 trillion won that analysts had predicted after factoring in the weakness in the semiconductor market. The expected average was already significantly lower than Samsung’s third-quarter operating profit of 17.57 trillion won and below the 14.87 trillion netted in the June quarter.

Consolidated sales for the fourth-quarter is predicted to be around 59 trillion won, lower than the 62.8 trillion won analysts predicted in a Reuters poll, and 10.57 percent down from a year ago.

An economic slowdown in China may have a “chilling effect” on many companies that do business in the country, an analyst told CNBC on Thursday. On Wednesday, iPhone maker Apple slashed first-quarter guidance on revenue, partly blaming the revision on a weakening economy in China and lower-than-expected iPhone revenue “primarily in Greater China.” Recent economic data out of China have been soft: Factory activity in December across small, medium and large enterprises slowed, sparking concerns abo

An economic slowdown in China may have a “chilling effect” on many companies that do business in the country, an analyst told CNBC on Thursday.

On Wednesday, iPhone maker Apple slashed first-quarter guidance on revenue, partly blaming the revision on a weakening economy in China and lower-than-expected iPhone revenue “primarily in Greater China.” The region represents about 15 percent of Apple’s revenue, according to analysts.

“China has been an engine of growth for many global companies over the last couple of decades and that may be coming to an end,” Gil Luria, director of research at D.A. Davidson & Co, said. “The trade conflict may make this trend worse for companies doing business in China, but it is not appearing to be the only cause for the slowdown.”

Beijing is caught up in an ongoing trade war with Washington and experts have warned about potential ramifications.

Recent economic data out of China have been soft: Factory activity in December across small, medium and large enterprises slowed, sparking concerns about Asia’s largest economy.

China’s GDP growth, meanwhile, has fallen to its slowest pace in more than two decades. The government has said it is cracking down on debt and trying to re-balance its economy to be more consumption driven, so some slowdown had been anticipated.

Against that backdrop, not all foreign tech companies doing business in China would be affected as much as the iPhone maker, several analysts told CNBC. For example, Apple’s big smartphone rival, Samsung Electronics, likely would not take a major hit from a Chinese economic slowdown due to its limited exposure in the country.

“Apple is somewhat unique in the large level of presence it has in China versus many other American tech companies/brands, so I’m not sure that what happens to Apple will apply to all tech companies, or all American companies,” Bob O’Donnell, president and chief analyst at Technalysis Research, told CNBC by email.

That said, he added, businesses are set to be “much more sensitive to China-specific results” and will watch developments in the country more closely.

Investor confidence in Samsung Electronics fell Thursday as a downward revision in Apple’s first-quarter guidance roiled stock prices of its suppliers. Apple on Wednesday lowered its revenue guidance and gross margin from previously projected figures, and blamed several factors including a weakening Chinese economy and lower-than-expected iPhone revenue “primarily in Greater China.” But an economic slowdown in China would have limited impact on Samsung compared to the iPhone maker, according to

Apple on Wednesday lowered its revenue guidance and gross margin from previously projected figures, and blamed several factors including a weakening Chinese economy and lower-than-expected iPhone revenue “primarily in Greater China.” The region represents about 15 percent of Apple’s revenue, according to analysts.

But an economic slowdown in China would have limited impact on Samsung compared to the iPhone maker, according to Daniel Yoo, head of global strategy and research at South Korea-based Kiwoom Securities.

He explained to CNBC by email that Samsung, the world’s top smartphone maker by market share, accounts for less than 1 percent of mobile phones in China, so it’s less exposed to Asia’s largest economy.

And on the chip side of Samsung’s business, China’s ambition to build up its domestic semiconductor industry — part of the Made in China 2025 plan — may slow down due to Beijing’s ongoing trade war with Washington.

“Which means Samsung will continue to be (the) dominant player in this business for the long period of time,” he said.

The production of memory chips used in smartphones and data centers is a high-performing business for Samsung. In its latest round of announced earnings, Samsung posted a 21 percent rise in profit.

Samsung, an important components supplier to Apple as well as a competitor in the smartphone market, fell 1.81 percent in the morning session, falling behind the broader Kospi index in South Korea.

If the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) does not follow through with its commitment to reduce oil production throughout this year, Brent crude prices could struggle to rise, according to J.P. Morgan’s head of Asia Pacific oil and gas. In an early December meeting, OPEC and non-OPEC countries agreed to take about 1.2 million barrels a day off the oil market — initially for six months — starting January, amid a persistent imbalance between global oil supply and demand. “Wel

If the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) does not follow through with its commitment to reduce oil production throughout this year, Brent crude prices could struggle to rise, according to J.P. Morgan’s head of Asia Pacific oil and gas.

In an early December meeting, OPEC and non-OPEC countries agreed to take about 1.2 million barrels a day off the oil market — initially for six months — starting January, amid a persistent imbalance between global oil supply and demand.

“Well, J.P. Morgan said prior to the OPEC meeting early December, that if OPEC didn’t really cut by more than around 1.2 million barrels per day, and they did just for the first half, (not) for the full year, that we could gravitate toward … our low-oil-price scenario, which is $55 Brent for 2019,” Scott Darling told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday.

On Wednesday afternoon during Asian hours, Brent traded down around 1 percent at $53.28.

Technology stocks across the region were under pressure, including many Huawei partners and suppliers. Taiwan’s major tech names also struggled: Catcher Technology fell 9.89 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor was down 2.65 percent, Largan Precision lost 9.94 percent and iPhone assembler Hon Hai dropped 3.63 percent. “Huawei equipment is more widely used (than ZTE is) by carriers around the world, including in Europe and Africa,” they said. ZTE shares listed in Hong Kong were down 5.94 percent on the

Shares of Nikkei heavyweight SoftBank Group fell 4.93 percent. Last year, SoftBank and Huawei jointly demonstrated potential use of the next generation of high-speed mobile internet; SoftBank is taking its mobile unit public on Dec. 19.

Analysts at Jefferies pointed out that Huawei has a major global presence in various technology areas such as telecommunications equipment, semiconductors, smartphones and cloud computing. It also represents a major growth driver for many tech manufacturers.

Huawei’s Meng, who is the daughter of the company’s founder, faces extradition to the U.S., according to Canada’s Department of Justice.

While the arrest represents a new escalation in American efforts to hold Chinese companies accountable for violation of U.S. laws, it is likely to elicit an angry reaction from Beijing, according to Eurasia Group.

“The investigation of Huawei could be a prelude to further action against the firm and its senior officials,” the Eurasia Group analysts said, adding that if the U.S. places a sudden ban on Huawei equipment, like it did with ZTE, the impact would be much greater.

“Huawei equipment is more widely used (than ZTE is) by carriers around the world, including in Europe and Africa,” they said.

ZTE shares listed in Hong Kong were down 5.94 percent on the day.

Both Huawei and ZTE are restricted from selling telecoms equipment in the U.S. due to what the U.S. describes as national security concerns.